Fastenal – “Will Oberton is the lowest paid Fortune 500 Company CEO. Did they include his bonus and stock options?”

Pros

If you have an interested to work for a Fortune 500 company, Fastenal is an option. They have good benefits.

Cons

In the department in which I worked, the management sucked. Over the 7 years I worked there, at least 10 people have quit. This includes 6 people in the last 3 months that I worked there.

In some cases, the management didn't know how things really worked. They wanted projects/rollouts/every day activities done, but they had no idea what their employers did to make them work. If there was a big change in a process, they didn't quite comprehend it what the employees did in the process. How can you pay someone when you have no idea what they are doing?

Politics.

They expect you to figure in your bonus as actual pay. So initially when you sit down to figure out how much you are going to make, they include an estimated bonus as part of what they are paying you. Which is fine...but twice in 8 years, they have cut bonuses. If your money is all tied up in kids and bills, how can a company cut their bonuses like that? This is just 1 of the many ways Fastenal is a penny pincher. It really shows once you put in your time.

You're really another average Joe. They don't care if you leave the company for good. They will also force others to put in much more work in place of your absence.

Advice to Senior Management

Take care of you're employees. Don't judge them. Treat everybody the way you would like to be treated.

Management should take control of problem employees better.

Get better advertising. "Fastenal, we get it right."? Our products target hard-working men. Act like it.
How can they advertise in Nascar and have a weak

Fastenal spends so much effort pleasing the customer. When are they going to spend more effort pleasing their employees?

Bob Kierlin is a great guy, but he didn't come up with the phrase, "Ordinary people doing ordinary things, extra-ordinary well." He attended, "Give'em the Pickle." A customer service seminar.